NBA holds rally against Maheshwar project

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, JAN. 8. The people affected by the Maheshwar hydro-
electric project, being built on the Narmada river in Madhya
Pradesh, on Sunday took out a procession at Mandleshwar after the
the withdrawal of the U.S. power utility Ogden from this project.
It was also in protest against the `forces' of privatisation and
globalisation.

The processionists led by the Narmada Bachao Andolan activists
shouted slogans against the Maheshwar project. The villagers
later joined a rally that ended with a resolve to fight against
the dam work.

A large number of representatives from various trade unions and
people's organisations from different parts of the country also
joined the dam-affected people at Mandleshwar. They included,
according to an NBA spokesperson, those from Kisan Adivasi
Sangathan, Shramik Adivasi Sangathan, Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Ekta
Parishad, Kasturbagram Mahila Ashram, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila
Udyog Sangathan, Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sanghat, and Bargi Bandh
Visthapit Sangh. The U.S. power utility Ogden had signed a
Memorandum of Intent in March last year during the U.S.
President, Mr. Bill Clinton's India visit, to invest 49 per cent
of the project equity.

However, NBA has claimed that by last month, Ogden had taken the
decision to withdraw from the project.

It may be recalled, the NBA has said, that in the last four
years, several power utilities from the U.S. and Germany, notably
Pac Gen, Bayernwerk and VEW Energie had withdrawn from the
project. In August last year, following a report on the status of
the resettlement in the valley, the Rs. 530 crore tied loan from
the private German bank- the HypoVereinsbank- also fell through.

The NBA leader, Mr. Alok Agarwal, said the average cost of
electricity to be produced by this project is Rs.7 per unit and
the cost of peaking power is Rs. 10 per unit -several times more
than the cost of power being now produced by the MPEB.